“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18,
NIV).
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year. Not because of
turkey or football, but because it reminds me of the need for gratitude.
Not far behind is another favorite: Advent. I have three subjects for
which I need multiple files for sermons: thanksgiving, advent, and
stewardship.
J. Cronin once wrote some helpful words in “Readers’ Digest.”
“Nothing brightens life—our own and others’—so much as the spirit of
thanksgiving. A doctor I knew in South Wales prescribed in certain
cases what he called his ‘thank you cure.’ When a patient came to him
discouraged, pessimistic, and full of his own woes, but without any
symptoms of a serious ailment, he would give this advice: ‘For six weeks
I want you to say thank you whenever anyone does you a favor and to
show you mean it, emphasize the words with a smile.’
“The patient might complain, ‘But no one ever does me a favor.’
“Whereupon, borrowing from Scripture, the wise old doctor would
reply: ‘Seek and you will find.’
“Six weeks later, more often than not, the patient would return with
quite a new outlook, freed of his sense of grievance against life, convinced
that people had suddenly become more kind and friendly.”
During World War II, a bomb fell near Rheims Cathedral, shattering
a beautiful rose window into thousands of pieces. The villagers searched
until every broken piece of glass was found. After the war artisans restored
the original beauty of the window by using lead to mold all the
pieces into one perfect, whole window.
During Thanksgiving and Advent we find that a broken world is
restored to wholeness. Might your world be restored
during these special seasons.
Gratefully,
Pastor Dan